INFLUENCE OF CHARGE-DISTRIBUTION ON THE CONFORMATION OF NEUTRAL POLYAMPHOLYTES

Two polyampholyte copolymers based on sodium-2-acrylamido-2-methylsulf onate (NaAMPS) and methacryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride (MAD QUAT) have been prepared either in homogeneous solution or by an inver se microemulsion polymerization technique. The copolymer microstructur e was shown to depend on the method of preparation. The microemulsion polymerization yields copolymers with a monomer sequence distribution not far from random while those obtained by polymerization in solution have a strong tendency to alternation. The aqueous-solution propertie s of the two samples have been investigated by viscometry. The results show that the charge distribution along the copolymer chain affects c onsiderably its conformation, in good agreement with recent theoretica l studies.